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The loi-cadre (1956 Overseas Reform
Act) was a French legal reform
passed by the French National Assembly on
23 June 1956. It marked a turning point in relations between France
and it overseas empire. Under pressure from its colonized
populations, the government transferred a number of powers from Paris to elected territorial
governments in French West Africa and also removed
remaining voting inequalities. It was the first step in the
creation of the French Community, comparable to the
British Commonwealth of Nations. The
territories of French West Africa, French Equatorial Africa, and Madagascar were then
scheduled to vote on theis new, reformed union with France.